Includes: Ninth United States Army Operations II: Five Nation Front, September-November, 1944. [2], 105 leaves. With 11 maps & 2 mounted original photographs. * Ninth United States Army Operations III: Combat in Holland. [2], 113 leaves. With 20 maps. * Ninth United States Army Operations IV: Offensive in November. [2], 191 leaves. With 18 maps. * Ninth United States Army Operations IV: Offensive in November. Part Two. [1], 192-357 leaves. With 17 maps. Together, 4 volumes. Stencil typescript on wood pulp mimeograph paper, the maps printed in purple ink. 27x20.5 cm. (10¾x8”), thin boards, the first two volumes disbound, the last two with cloth spines.
Rare archives compiled by the 4th Information & Historical Service, Henry J. Webb, rewrite editor, Richard D. Sturgis & Karl Hubeny, cartographers. An extremely detailed and invaluable historical record of the actions of the Ninth United States Army in the fall of 1944, as the Allied forces drove Germany’s army back to its borders, based largely on interviews with soldiers and officers. Each action is described and analyzed, and the numerous maps show the deployment and movement of the troops. The narrative winds down in mid-December, as the action known as the Battle of the Bulge was getting underway. Each of the pages is marked SECRET at both top and bottom, and certainly the documents reveal an unfiltered view of the action that would not have been suitable for public consumption during the war. These include shortages of supplies and ammunition; comparison of German to Allied tanks (German were superior), and much more. Plans and objectives of the various operations are detailed, the actions described by the participants, as the entry into Lindern, “Sergeant Humphrey: Two machine guns once opened up at us and we hit the ground. One machine gun opened up and a half-minute later one of our mortars let him have it. He never fired another shot. Then the second machine gun opened up and our mortar fired again and knocked him out.” Another action took place in Holland, “At the same time, the third platoon discovered about 150 men to their front. They were surrounded on three sides. Those who could withdrew. None of the right outpost of the third platoon escaped, but two men in the center outpost and all six of the left outpost of the platoon were successful in getting through the German ring. One of the men came through the enemy position in the bottom of a cart driven by a Dutch civilian. At this time the left flank platoon was attacked by twenty dismounted men. The platoon outposts placed considerable mortar and machine gun fire on the Germans advancing in a wave, ant the enemy was held back…” These documents, produced in very small numbers, are quite rare. OCLC/WorldCat lists only three sets, at the U.S. Army Center of Military History; the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library; and the U.S. Army Military History Institute. Those sets do include the first volume, Brest-Crozon September 1944, not present here. There are a few instances of manuscript ink corrections to the text. Also with the archive two letters to Capt. Norman B. Sigband, who was involved in the preparation of the reports - the first, from a Col. William Biddle, 20 Dec. 1945, refers to a proposed commendation for the reconnaissance section of the 113th Cavalry Group; the second, from a Lt. Gen. A.C. Gillem, 7 Jan. 1946, pertaining to the possibility that the Battle of the Bulge might not have occurred if different actions had been pursued by the allies, but they may well have been at a greater disadvantage. Also present is a military hat.